map and photos: The town Blatná ("Town in Marsh") is well-known for its Renaissance chateau with the same name. Blatná lies about 25 km northwest of the town of Písek in the countryside full of ponds along the Lomnice river. First mentioned in the 13th century. The fortified settlement and village became a small town about 1300 and in 1601, a town. The chateau was built and developed by the Lords of Rožmitál, who owned the town until 1579. During the life of Zdeněk Lev of Rožmitál the town prospered. Town sites include the water chateau founded before 1400, the Late-Gothic Church of the Assumption of Virgin Mary, St. Michael's Chapel from 1515 north of the church in the cemetery arched with diamond vaults and a cloister from the second half of the 18th century. Sometimes called "town of roses" for its radition of rose cultivation started by the famous breeder Jan Böhm. [February 2009] Nearby: